Coastal View & Moor News Issue 19
propose an amendment for Council Tax freeze
Liberal Democrats T
his comes despite the Government’s offer of a 2.5% grant to all councils
which freeze their Council Tax this year. Refusing the Government’s offer means Labour have lost the area £1.4 million – that’s over £10 for every single person in the borough.
At a recent meeting of the Council the Liberal Democrats put forward an amendment which would have meant a Council Tax freeze. But Labour voted this down.
Lib Dem Leader Cllr Glyn Nightingale said: “The 3.5% rise will be built in for future years – so this is not just a 3.5% increase for this year, it is forever. “Labour Councillors constantly complain about the impact of the budget on local people, but this Council Tax rise reduces people’s incomes all round. So it hurts the people they are claiming to protect. “Less money in people’s pockets means less spending in the local economy, which in turn means less employment. “It’s short-sighted, contradictory and politically motivated. “It’s a good job that pensioners will be getting the biggest ever pension increase of £5.30 a week in April. “The Council’s scrutiny revealed that many budget changes were reforms that were unrelated to any cuts. Many were sensible, overdrew or did what other local councils were doing already. “If Council Tax rise made the Council smarter in its working, the Lib Dems would support this budget. But it doesn’t – so we can’t and we haven’t” Cllr. George R. Dunning Leader Redcar & Cleveland Council told Coastal View: “The Coalition opposition mainly the Tories and Lib Dems are trying to sell the Tory Minister Eric Pickles’ poisoned chalice on a one off Council Tax worth £1.4m which will cost Redcar & Cleveland £7m in further cuts. “The previous Council Tax grant was accepted as it was payable for the full term of this Tory / Lib Dem Coalition Government. This grant is for one year only. I know there are four Tees authorities who have, or are going to refuse this smoke screen of a grant. Redcar & Cleveland Labour Group had their best election result in 2011 since 1995 on a Manifesto which was: 1) Remaining focused on the regeneration of the borough.
2) Protecting the vulnerable in our communities.
3) Concentrating on delivering front line services.
4) Minimising job losses. “Taking a one off Council Tax Grant could well jeopardise our Manifesto commitments. The history on Council Tax in Redcar & Cleveland from 2000, is from 2000 - 2003 a Labour Council did not have any increases (0%) then lose the
local elections in 2003. Lib Dem / Tory led Coalition from 2003-2007 increase Council Tax substantially, increase top offi cers pay and their own allowances and fail to retain Council.
“Redcar & Cleveland Council held a special meeting on Tuesday, December 13, at which a raft of proposals were approved. They included a Council Tax increase of 3.5 per cent for 2012/13, which will help maintain frontline community services which otherwise may have faced cuts. “The Council did have the option to receive a grant instead the equivalent of a 2.5 per cent Council Tax rise but this only covered one year and would have left the authority needing to make a further £7m in savings / cuts over the course of its medium-term fi nancial plan, hence that is why several councils are looking to refuse this one off council tax grant.”
‘Earth Guy’ a great success Sacred Heart Students
year and was made from off-cuts of the special profi les that are produced on that site.
Ian said “It is fantastic to see such enthusiasm for engineering in our young pupils. The steel sculpture really is an amazing feat for them to have completed and I hope that reaching the fi nals of a nationwide competition has given them the confi dence to keep at it.
“As an engineer, I know that
I
an Swales, MP for Redcar has written to students from Sacred Heart School
for putting Redcar on the map for all the right reasons. Their Transformers Style fi gure, Earth Guy, has won them a place in the fi nals of the 2012 National Science and Engineering Competition. The ten foot work of art, which is situated at the entrance to Tata steel’s Skinningrove site, was unveiled at the back end of last
Redcar & Cleveland Liberal Democrat Leader Glyn Nightingale
LINGDALE PHARMACY Independent Chemist
Your Local
Engineering is such an important skill
to have, a skill that seems to be enjoying a revival on Teesside. With more and more apprenticeships being created by this Government; with 91% more apprenticeships being created in Redcar and Cleveland alone since 2010, it seems only right that we should encourage our students to take up these subjects and continue to invest in their future.’’
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